The Hawthorne Effect between Covert and Overt Observations in the Monitoring of Hand Hygiene Adherence among Healthcare Personnel at Coronary Care Unit and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit.
10.14192/kjnic.2014.19.1.20
- Author:
Jeong Hyun KIM
;
Jae Sim JEONG
;
Mi Na KIM
;
Jeong Yun PARK
;
Hye Ran CHOI
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Adherence;
Hand hygiene;
Hawthorne effect;
Health personnel;
Intensive care unit
- MeSH:
Compliance;
Coronary Care Units*;
Delivery of Health Care*;
Effect Modifier, Epidemiologic*;
Hand Hygiene*;
Health Personnel;
Hospitals, General;
Humans;
Intensive Care Units*;
Nursing;
Seoul;
Thoracic Surgery*
- From:Korean Journal of Nosocomial Infection Control
2014;19(1):20-28
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Direct observation of healthcare workers is commonly used in hospitals to investigate hand hygiene compliance. However, the hand hygiene compliance rate may increase due to the Hawthorne effect, which is the modification of behavior simply because subjects become aware that they are being observed. The objective of this study was to investigate the occurrence of the Hawthorne effect when directly observing hand hygiene compliance in intensive care unit (ICU) healthcare personnel. METHODS: A total of 87 staff members from the coronary care unit and cardiac surgery ICU of a general hospital in Seoul were included in this study: 24 residents and interns, 55 nurses, and 8 nursing assistants. Both covert and overt observations, where subjects were either unaware or aware of any direct observation, were performed on separate occasions. RESULTS: A total of 1,052 covert and 1,336 overt observations were documented over 30 and 34 occasions, respectively. Overall hand hygiene compliance was significantly higher with overt observation than with covert observation (1,041/1,336, 77.9% vs. 659/1,052, 62.6%, P<0.001). The Hawthorne effect was present in all professions and behaviors, with the exception of nursing assistants, and prior to touching a patient. CONCLUSION: Direct observation of hand hygiene compliance was associated with the Hawthorne effect when observations were made overtly and this was likely to contribute to an overestimation of compliance rate.
